Tavaryn knew she was being friendly but he knew he couldn't take much more back patting. He deftly caught her hand in a gentle grip and said in a teasing voice, "Hey easy on the slugging. I don't need any more bruises than necessary." He smiled to ease any sense of guilt she may have.

"Belina always had a fair sense of play. It's why I decided to serve on the Ackbar," he added. He hadn't let go of her hand and just held it. "If I didn't know any better I would have said that Belina's assigning both of us here was done on purpose."

**********

((Did the Katarn arrive too?))

The space battle reminded Haruka of Geonosis even though that was a ground battle. Battle was battle he guessed. They were similar in that their forces were outnumbered yet their side had the will to finish what they started and succeed. He reported, "Captain enemy ships are heavily damaged. Should we send boarding parties to obtaiin surrender?"

***********

Caelos directed Kalla briefly in what to do as each of the commanders reported in. They had been working silently for at least twenty minutes. Silence was rewarding but in this case it felt stifling with the tension that was going on. He decided to get to the root of it before it affected battle. "The one who rushed to defend you has a promise mark. Is it for you?"

Meanwhile Lord Tristan had assumed his battle gear and was supervising the katarn caravans for the artillery. He spotted the Echleon 5 trooper and beckoned him over. He asked, "So you are created for the Republic yet you don't take orders from them?"